Starting September 1, new rules on the road will cost Australian drivers $200 if they do not follow the rules which, in turn, aims to improve road safety and more compliance. Even though the new rules are meant to improve road safety, they come as a shock to many motorists as they claim the new penalties have been implemented by the authorities without any communication to the public.
Using Cellphones While Driving
New rules for road safety include the fines for drivers and motorists who still talking, texting, or otherwise using a mobile while driving. They have been warned that aside from the fines called “texting while driving” which can amount to over $200, resting a phone on one’s lap, within any type of restrictive hand-holding, or in a docked which is considered an unsafe cradle can still attract a fine which is deemed “lagging hand-phone penalties”
Hurrying to Avoid the Police
Also, mobile devices used while driving have been spotted on the vehicle operators’ behaviours while parked. Vehicles not parked in designated areas but rather left abandoned and deemed to block passage ways can attract immediate fines. The revised rules and the vehicles engaged in the obstruction of pedestrian free access can still attract a revised penalty.
Protection for Pedestrian to Cross
Many of these rules focus on enhancing the protection to the pedestrians. Upcoming reports show a concerning trend in near-misses as a result of distracted drivers communicating alongside parked drivers. With plans of implementing harsher consequences, it is the goal of the policymakers to promote protective considerations towards the road users.
Public Opinion and Issues
New fines that have been introduced, in this case, stimulated a lot of anger in amonst drivers. There are those in this category who think that there has been a lack of enough disinformation for the public surrounding what behaviors are now categorized as a crime. We have already seen public action groups in that arena start to work declare that there must be a minimum of a public informationized video made, fully covering these regulations.
Rationale Behind the Policy
Transport departments in the case of a few states, have tried to justify the appending regulations, as being some primary aspect of road safety for the country. These officials argue that there is too fine a line between justified and excessive, particularly in the case of changing the curtain behaviors that they consider to be risky. With the parking of vehicles and distracted driving controlling their dominance in road safety issues, there is not enough debate to declare that these consequences are excessive.
What Drivers Need to Know
From now, it is not enough for drivers to claim that they did not see any signs of roadworks. There is, in these cases, purposefully constructed road and driving laws, which are set to be ignored at one’s own peril. From Septermber 1st, any road offense will result in an immediate fine of $200.With enforcement bodies intensifying monitoring, all drivers must be advised that the new rules of the road are of serious consequence.